5 l6 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



teristics of the bird with a few graphic touches. He has left his 

 downy couch, and sallied forth to watch the eventful moment when 

 Nature arises, fresh, blooming, and full of renovated vigour. In his 

 wanderings he comes upon a Nightingale. " In the midst of a 

 thicket," he says, " I now see a solitary bird, humble in its attire, and 

 of most modest mien, peeping at me with a caution so uncommon, 

 and yet so inviting, that I feel tempted to seek its acquaintance. 

 With care I approach the feathered stranger. Its form is somewhat 

 elongated, yet not incompact ; its eyes are large, and of peculiar 

 mildness ; it stands rather high, on a pair of light flesh-coloured and, 

 as it were, transparent legs ; its wings, which are of moderate length, 

 droop, and seem at intervals to tremble : and, as it moves from one 

 twig to another, I see it hops, or leaps, and does not walk step by 

 step, like many other birds. Its colour is a dull brownish olive, but 

 the hind part of the back and the tail are of a richer tint, though 

 corresponding with the general hue. At this moment it flies lightly 

 to the ground, hops a few steps, picks up a grub, and returns to its 

 former station." 



" The Nightingale,'' says McGillivray, " which in summer is spread 

 over the greater part of the Continent, extending its migrations to 

 Sweden and the temperate parts of Russia, arrives in the South of 

 England about the middle of April, or a few days later, should the 

 weather be severe. The females, according to various observers, 

 come from a week to ten days after the males. Individuals settle in 

 the southern counties, including part of Devonshire, in the eastern 

 and midland districts, as far north as York and Carlisle ; but none 

 are to be seen in Cornwall, Wales, or the north-western parts of 

 England, although it is found much farther north on the Continent." 

 It is alleged that the migration of the Nightingale does not extend 

 into Scotland. Mr. Duncan, one of Mr. McGillivray's most reliable 

 correspondents, states that a pair of Nightingales arrived in Calder 

 Wood, in West Lothian, in the early part of the summer of 1826. 

 " Before and about midnight, when the full moon shone bright and 

 clear, the warble of the male was first heard; it soon attracted a 

 number of admiring listeners, who hastened to the spot. The owner 

 of the wood was anxious to preserve them, thinking they might 

 breed ; but, in spite of his care, the male was shot, upon which the 

 female left the wood." In France they arrive singly, and depart, 

 alone about the middle of August, on their return journey to Africa 

 or Asia. 



The Sedge Warbler (Salicaria phragmites) is a delicate, lively little 

 bird, haunting the margins ■ of streams and pools overgrown with 



